


The Sushi Question

by templarsandhoes



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, First Dates, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:24:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7601527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/templarsandhoes/pseuds/templarsandhoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The beginning of a dinner, which had the slight possibility of being the beginning of a date. And had an even smaller possibility of being the beginning of a relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sushi Question

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the July #meflashfanwork

The Alliance headquarters was buzzing, no one sitting still. Too much going on to hang around, after all duties were squared away. Granted, the Battle of the Citadel was only a few days ago. Media outlets, politicians, military officials, and so many others were clamoring for McKenzie Shepard’s attention. Kenzie loved meeting all the people, but she was getting tired, and overwhelmed slightly. It seemed like she couldn't even have half an hour without someone else needing her. She heard a knock on the door of her hotel room. 

Sighing as she stood up, she reluctantly opened the door. “Sorry, I'm just-” 

“Please say hungry,” Joker interrupted. They exchanged a smile. 

“Starving,” she said, her smile glowing. She turned around, and Joker followed her, his crutches quiet on the floor. 

“I figure you should have some real food. Hospital food can be the worst thing you’ve ever eaten,” he said, finding a chair to sit on. McKenzie chuckled, finding a pair of sneakers. She slipped the low tops on her feet, cuffing her jeans slightly. 

“I haven’t had a decent meal in…” she started. She leaned back up. “I can’t remember.”

“Jeez, Shepard. A good meal is important for morale.” 

She walked towards the closet, pulling out a faux leather jacket. “Hey, I think I did alright,” she said. He adjusted his hat. 

“Yeah. It was alright,” he said, a smug grin peeking out from the brim of his hat. She rolled her eyes as she looked herself over in the mirror. Long blonde hair fell down, perfectly straight. Luckily, she hadn’t taken off her makeup from the day’s press events. 

“You’re driving, I assume?” 

“Of course. You ready?” he asked. 

“Yep,” she answered. He sat up, adjusting his crutches. “Where are we going anyway?”

“That’s what I was forgetting. I had to ask you the sushi question.” 

“I’m guessing sushi,” she said, a laugh escaping her lips. He laughed as well. 

“Do you like sushi?” he asked, trying to keep his face straight. 

“Yes, I like sushi,” she answered, more laughter coming from her. She opened the door, and allowed him to walk out first. 

“Good. I don't have a backup plan, anyway,” he said, waiting for her to close the door. She smiled, eyes rolling. They walked outside in relative silence, politely greeting the few people they saw along the way. 

“I think I'm getting hungrier every step I take,” she said. She walked alongside him, her steps perfectly in time with his crutches. 

“Lucky for you, there's no speed limit in this thing,” he noted. 

“You would have had so many speeding tickets if there was one.”

“Lucky for both of us, then,” he said as they approached the rented skycar. The doors opened, and they both climbed in. Joker started driving, the car lifting up with ease. “I miss the Normandy,” he said, sighing slightly. She chuckled. 

“Just a few more days. Then you’ll be reunited,” she joked. 

“Hopefully this media crap dies down,” he said, offhand. 

“Come on, don't tell me you don't like being the center of attention, Joker. You're the most famous pilot around right now,” she said, her smile widening as she spoke. 

“Blondie, you're the center of attention. You know… that whole ‘savior of the Citadel’ thing,” he reminded her. 

“Trust me, I know. I can't go twenty minutes without seeing my giant face on some vid screen,” she said. 

“I could think of worse faces to be plastered everywhere,” he said, quietly. She looked over at him, a smug grin on her face. 

“Was that a compliment I just heard?” 

“Not really,” he said, his voice fluctuating. “Just said that there are uglier people than you.” He turned towards her for a second, his own smug grin blowing hers out of the water. 

“That's a compliment and I'm running with it,” she said, a laugh tacking itself onto her sentence. He chuckled, his eyes falling back onto the monitors in front of him. 

“Do whatever you want with it.” He continued driving the car, knowing the restaurant was only a few more minutes away. “Alright five more minutes. Then you can eat,” he teased. 

“Step on it, Flight Lieutenant,” she said with a laugh. 

“Jeez. You get bossy when you're hungry,” he said, slowing down the car slightly as they approached the restaurant. “Do I still have to listen to you if we’re not on duty?” 

“If you slow down on purpose right now, I'm going to hate you so much,” she said. He laughed, slowing down the car slightly. “No,” she whined, laughing as well. 

“We’re getting close, Hungry. Don’t worry,” he informed her, then focused all of his attention on the car. He wasn’t exactly sure where the restaurant was, so he had to pay close attention to where he was flying. McKenzie looked out of the windows of the car, watching the people down below. She took a deep breath. “You alright?” he asked, and she looked at him quickly. She didn’t realize that he had heard her. 

“Yeah. I’m glad we’re doing this, Joker.” She looked back out the window. “It’ll be nice to have a normal dinner. No shitty Alliance food, no rushing to get back to posts…” 

“No geth shooting at us, no Spectres… oh.” 

“You love having a Spectre on board, Joker. You love being able to go anywhere because of me,” she teased. He laughed, then set the car down in front of the restaurant. 

“Yeah, I love having the huge target on our backs. Really goes well with our uniforms,” he said, turning off the car. The doors opened. He pulled his crutches out, and she helped him maneuver them. “Thanks,” he said, while standing up. She walked around to his side of the car. 

“Yeah, no problem,” she said. She flashed him a smile that made his knees weak. Weaker than they already were. They started walking into the restaurant. He felt her walk next to him, but kept his eyes forward. He also felt the eyes from other people on them. On her. 

The entered the restaurant, the low music filling their ears. The hostess showed them to their table quickly. Joker knew it was because of McKenzie, but who was he to complain. He looked at her as he followed, watched her confident steps as she maneuvered throughout the tables. She turned around towards him, blonde hair swaying like a shampoo commercial. Damn, she looked good. That supermodel smiled was being flashed at him again. He took a deep breath. She was hot; he knew that, and he was pretty sure she knew that he knew it. She stopped in her tracks, head looking back at the hostess quickly before turning back to him. She was waiting for him to catch up. “Go,” he said, quietly. 

She chuckled. “I can’t leave my pilot behind,” she joked. There wasn’t enough room to walk side by side, but she stayed closer to him than the hostess. The table was in sight, and he was grateful that his knees would be getting a break. 

“Spectres first,” he said, nodding his head towards a seat. She laughed, rolled her eyes, then started to take off her jacket. Her dark blue, long sleeve shirt was exposed, and it looked even better in the low light of the restaurant. Blue was her color. He knew it from her uniform aboard the Normandy, and he knew it now. He moved to other side of the table and propped his crutches against the wall. She watched him as he sat down, and cracked a smile when their eyes met. 

“Please tell me they have decent beer here,” she begged. He chuckled. 

“Shepard, you just saved the damn Citadel. You’re drinking the hard stuff tonight,” he said, handing her the smaller drink menu. She laughed as she accepted it. 

“Hey, I couldn’t have done it without you, Joker,” she said. He looked down, almost bashfully. He brought his eyes back up, and was about to say something, but she gasped. “Let’s do a shot,” she suggested. 

“Is that an order?” 

“Are you going to listen to it if it is?” 

“Hell yeah.” 

“Then yes. Shots. That’s an order,” she said, unable to contain her laughter. 

“Now is that an order from an Alliance Commander… or from a Council Spectre? I never know with you,” he said. 

“Shut up and pick a shot,” she said with a lopsided grin. 

“Can I pick yours too?” he asked. She looked at him, her smile fading as she contemplated her answer. “Now remember, I stole the Normandy for you.” 

“Son of a… Alright. You can pick,” she said. His smile was the most devious smile she’d ever seen. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?” 

“Commander, you’re going to regret a lot of things with me.” 

“We’ll see about that,” she said. Their eyes met, and neither of them looked away. They both wore a smile on their faces, their eyes full of … something. Joker felt oddly comfortable with her here. On board, when he’s in the chair, he’s confident. They had trusted each other with their lives, gotten to know each other better than either of them had originally planned. But, there he sat. His heart raced as he watched her, had to catch his breath when she smiled at him. Yet, part of him was calm, still able to crack a joke here and there. 

She looked down at the menu, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He struggled to pull his eyes away and look at his own menu. She looked different out of her uniform. In her uniform, standing at the galaxy map, she was just the best damn commander in the galaxy. Now, he watched her scan the menu, being… a person. Being normal. He was damn glad he got to see this side of her, and wondered how many other people got to see her like this. Then, his brain reminded him that in a few days, she’d be the Commander again. They’d be back on board the Normandy, business as usual. _Hell_ , he thought. _Might as well make the most of this_. “So…” he started. “You owe me a story.” She looked up to him, confusion lining her face. He raised an eyebrow, and a sudden realization dawned on her. 

“I’m not telling you about the time Anderson and I got drunk together,” she said. 

“Not even for your favorite pilot?” he begged. She wouldn’t budge, but he was determined. He pouted his lip slightly, which was met with an eye roll from her. 

“Fine. But only because you’re my favorite  _ and  _ because you’re cute.” He smiled, then rested his chin on his hand. She reluctantly told the story, and he listened to every word, watched every expression she made.  _ Wait,  _ he thought.  _ Did she call me cute? _


End file.
